“I am honored to have been considered by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Labor and put America’s workers and businesses back on a path to sustainable prosperity. I want [to] thank President Trump for his nomination.

“While I won’t be serving in the administration, I fully support the President and his highly qualified team.”

CNN reported a senior GOP source told the network that Puzder was losing support among Senate Republicans. The source claimed there were at least four Republicans who were not going to support Puzder’s nomination, and possibly as many as 12.

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Puzder, who is the CEO of CKE Restaurants — parent company of fast-food chains Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s — had been under scrutiny in recent weeks, in large part because of claims of physical abuse his ex-wife made during divorce proceedings in 1986.

Court documents said Lisa Fierstein, Puzder’s ex-wife, claimed Puzder physically abused her by “striking her violently about the face, chest, back, shoulders and neck, without provocation or cause.”

She also made an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in March 1990 in which she claimed Puzder vowed revenge against her for making allegations of spousal abuse public.

“You will pay for this,” Fierstein said on the show where she appeared in a wig and sunglasses and used the name “Ann” to protect her identity.

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Fierstein eventually recanted her allegations in 1991. She also told Fox News, “I regret my decision to appear on the [Oprah] show … I was hesitant but encouraged by friends and became caught up in the notion of a free trip to Chicago and being a champion of women and women’s issues.”

In addition to the controversy over Fierstein’s allegations, women’s groups were critical of TV ads for Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s that frequently used scantily clad women to promote the restaurants’ newest sandwich offerings.

Meanwhile, supporters of a higher minimum wage were upset with Puzder’s hard-line stance on keeping wages low for his workers.

News that Puzder’s family had hired an undocumented immigrant to be its housekeeper also cast a negative light on his nomination.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said he was happy with Puzder’s decision.

I’m glad Puzder will withdraw. Given his relationship to his employees he wasn’t fit to lead a department responsible for defending workers. https://t.co/keclfhuktH

In recent weeks, there had been questions surrounding Puzder’s commitment to taking over the Department of Labor. His confirmation hearing had been postponed four times because he had not turned in the required paperwork.